Her party is facing daunting challenges
The seventh death anniversary of BB who made the supreme sacrifice of life for the restoration of democracy is being observed in Garhi Khuda Bux today. While BB came to power twice for short periods she spent a good part of her life struggling against military rulers Ziaul Haq and Pervez Musharraf. As a result of the no-holds-barred fights between the PPP and PML-N that characterised the 1990s, a number of fake cases were instituted against her and Asif Ali Zardari during the PML-N rule. Forced to run from pillar to post, she decided to leave the country. It was during their exile that she persuaded Nawaz Sharif to sign the Charter of Democracy which was to serve as guidelines after their return to the country.
The PPP is observing Benazir Bhutto’s death anniversary under trying circumstances. Badly battered in 2013 elections, the party faces new challenges. Zardari’s strategy of alliances had helped the PPP to complete its tenure, a feat that no party had so far been able to perform. The strategy however backfired in the post-election period. The induction of the MQM in Sindh government did not go well with some among the PPP in the province. Bilawal Bhutto’s unveiled and repeated criticism of Altaf Hussain forced the MQM to resign from the Sindh Cabinet and launch counter attacks. In Punjab, Zardari’s support to the PML-N, termed by the PPP as support for democracy rather than Nawaz Sharif, estranged many PPP workers and some party leaders.
The absence of Bilwal Bhutto from Garhi Khuda Bux has been ascribed to illness by Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon. While this might be true, the fact that a social media savvy Bilawal is no more tweeting since his departure from Pakistan is creating doubts about the official version. Rivalries within Sindh PPP recently led Makhdum Ameen Faheem to publicly complain about being neglected by the party. Differences of the sort would have been easily resolved under BB. In the present circumstances the task could become formidable.